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Mario Maker Contest: I Love Power-Ups
I love a good power-up in a Mario game. Especially one that makes the level easier or more exciting to play through. Or what about that feeling of grabbing a Super Star and knocking out every enemy in your way. It never gets old. Your challenge this week: Create courses filled with power-ups or using…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 29, 2020 -
CultureThe Wii U Games That Still Need To Come To Switch
With Platinum Games bringing The Wonderful 101 to Switch via a Kickstarter campaign, that’s one more former Wii U exclusive that’s being moved to Nintendo’s newer, much more successful console. As of now, there are a few major games still stuck on the Wii U, but only a few that will likely end up on…
By Chris Kohler Published February 3, 2020 -
Donkey Kong Has Mouths On His Feet And I Hate It
I could have gone my whole life without ever knowing this fact. But now I know it, and now you, too, know this fact. In Mario Kart Wii, Donkey Kong has mouths on his feet. If I have to live with this image and thought in my head, so do you. It is only fair.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 1, 2020 -
Mario Maker Contest: Water, Water Everywhere
Water levels often are terrible. But sometimes, if they are done just right, they can be…mostly not terrible. Let’s make some mostly not terrible or even good Mario levels using water! Your Challenge This Week: Create levels featuring large water sections or set entirely underwater. Don’t feel like you need to make the whole level…
By Zack Zwiezen Published February 1, 2020 -
CultureNintendo’s Theme Park Trailer Is A Trip
We’re only six months (at most!) away from the opening of Nintendo’s big new theme park at Universal Studios, Osaka. That means it’s time to not only get a big hype trailer, but some actual information on the place as well, including a very cool, very Mario feature. It’s a pretty good vid, hinting at…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 13, 2020 -
There’s A Creepy Ghost Secretly Following You In Super Mario 3D Land
Ghosts are part of the Mario universe, no doubt about that. But there’s one ghost in Super Mario 3D Land that is unlike any other ghost. And because it is easy to miss, most players have no idea it’s even there. As explained in a recent video from YouTuber, SwankyBox, this spooky spirit looks like…
By Zack Zwiezen Published December 15, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMario Maker’s New Update Is The Closest Thing To Zelda II Maker We’ll Ever Get
Super Mario Maker 2 has finally leveled up with today’s release of the version 2.0 update. Some carefully-considered new enemies and items open up new creative possibilities, but the big change is the fact that Mario can now transform into Link, with a full suite of new moves that turn Mario Maker levels into Zelda…
By Chris Kohler Published December 5, 2019 -
CultureSuper Mario Maker 2 Update Adds Link
Super Mario Maker 2 is getting a free update this Thursday that adds a bunch of new enemies and blocks for players to build levels out of, including a Master Sword power-up that will transform Mario into Link. When Mario becomes Link he’s able to use the character’s abilities, ranging from smacking enemies with his…
By Ethan Gach Published December 2, 2019 -
CultureSuper Mario 64 Land, An Enormous Fan-Made Mario Game, Is Out Now
Superstar Mario modder Kaze Emanuar, whose work we’ve featured here a ton, has a huge new project out today: Super Mario 64 Land, an all-new Mario game based on Super Mario 64 that adds new levels, new bosses, new powerups and new music. There’s a catch—it’s technically a mod for Super Mario 64, not a…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 10, 2019 -
Someone Mashed Buttons So Fast They Broke Mario Party 4 (Update)
Some folks are just really good at mashing buttons. And everyone has their own technique. Maybe you use two fingers. Maybe you hold the controller weird. Odds are though, you aren’t as good at mashing buttons as Ludwig Ahgren, who mashed so fast and so hard in a Mario Party 4 minigame, Domination, that he…
By Zack Zwiezen Published November 10, 2019 -
Culture26 Years Later, Here’s Another Deleted Scene From The Super Mario Bros. Movie
It didn’t make the cut back in 1993, but if for some reason you felt like seeing even more footage from the disastrous Super Mario Bros. live action movie, here’s your chance. The team at SMBmovie.com, who have spent years cataloguing and uploading everything you’d ever want to know—and a lot of stuff you wouldn’t—about…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 5, 2019 -
CultureProfessional Photographer Takes Super Mario Odyssey Shots With Intricate Detail
It’s not easy to capture the perfect photo in Super Mario Odyssey’s snapshot mode. Real-life photographer Daniel Cordero knows this all too well, especially when it came to taking a photo of Mario and a rabbit. The idea for this shot came to Cordero during the six months he spent playing the popular Nintendo Switch…
By Ian Walker Published October 25, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Mario Maker Remake Perfectly Captures The Moodiness Of Hollow Knight
Mario Maker isn’t all that great if you’re craving something moody. The game has proven itself to be an incredibly flexible tool for making clever video game levels that are quite unlike standard Mario designs, but it’s only got a few ways to tinker with mood or tone. That means player CerulanOak has a hell…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 22, 2019 -
CultureThese Are Nintendo’s Official Christmas Sweaters
There are many unofficial “ugly” holiday sweaters for sale on the internet. These are not those. Available exclusively at UK retailer Geek Store (with international shipping available), these are the official Nintendo Christmas sweaters. If someone gives you a Nintendo sweater that is not one of these designs, they probably don’t love you. Geek Store…
By Mike Fahey Published October 15, 2019 -
Mario Maker Contest: Spooky And Scary
This is the month of Halloween, which makes it my favorite month of the year. I love Halloween and the spooky season leading up to it. So let’s celebrate the spooky season with some creepy, scary and Halloween themed levels! Your Challenge This Week: Create spooky, creepy, scary or Halloween inspired levels! Theme: Spooky &…
By Zack Zwiezen Published October 12, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsBeing Able To Play Mario Maker Online With Friends Makes It Even Better
Last week, Super Mario Maker 2 finally received an update that enabled players to matchmake with friends online, a much-requested feature that was missing when the game launched in June. Over the weekend, I played a few courses with two friends, and it was probably the most fun I’ve had with an online game in…
By Joshua Rivera Published October 7, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanMario & Luigi RPG Developer AlphaDream Has Gone Bankrupt
Founded in 2000, AlphaDream was originally known as Alpha Star and was staffed with people who had formerly been at Square, including former Square President Tetsuo Mizuno. The studio is best known for the Mario & Luigi RPG series. It was announced today that AlphaDream has gone bankrupt. According to Yahoo! Japan, revenue was sluggish…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 2, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsMario Maker Level Lets You Compose Music And Play It Back
Some of the best creations in Super Mario Maker 2 often have extremely little to do with the experience of playing a Mario level. Consider the level “Music Maker – write a tune” by user knil (ID: 4MW-PJW-3JF). It isn’t a Mario course at all, but a really clever player piano of sorts that you…
By Joshua Rivera Published September 30, 2019 -
Someone Is Making A Game Based On the Super Mario Bros Super Show
Many fans have recreated old Mario games in different engines or in different styles. But one fan and his young kids are doing something different. They’re creating a totally original Mario game based on the animated segments from the popular Super Mario Bros. Super Show and it looks amazing. The fan game is being developed…
By Zack Zwiezen Published September 29, 2019 -
Mario Maker Contest: Going Up, Winners!
Last week I challenged you folks to create Mario levels that went up and down instead of left and right. Add a little verticality to the world of Mario. I got a nice mix of themes, ideas, and designs. You folks sure like going up! This week I got some levels that I enjoyed so…
By Zack Zwiezen Published September 28, 2019